Moroccan-Style Chicken with Couscous Salad

Moroccan-style chicken with couscous salad is quick, easy and delicious. It’s from a Murdoch Books publication: Commonsense Quick & Easy Meals, which is a book you’d walk straight past if you judged on covers alone. Murdoch are great at coming up with a theme (“speedy everyday recipes”) and throwing them all together into yet another book. Fast Food, Hot Food, Bowl Food…if you look hard enough this is likely to appear in at least one of their other themed titles.

The magic ingredient is ras el hanout: a Moroccan spice blend – hence the title. You have a couple of options: google it and make your own; look for it by name at your favourite spice counter; or look for it at your favourite spice counter but search for ‘Moroccan’. Enjoy!

Moroccan-Style Chicken with Couscous Salad

 

Print

Serves: 4

Couscous Salad

• 370g couscous
• ½ small red onion, halved and finely sliced lengthways
• 50g pistachio nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• 8 dried apricots, chopped
• 60g green olives, pitted and chopped
• ¼ preserved lemon, pulp removed, rinsed and finely chopped
• 1 small handful of mint, roughly chopped
• 1 small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout
• 12 chicken tenderloins
• 2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil

Yoghurt Dressing

• 250 g plain yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint
• 2 teaspoons ras el hanout
• 1 teaspoon honey

1. Cook couscous according to instructions on the packet. Fluff up with a fork. Toss the remaining ingredients through the couscous.
2. Meanwhile, combine the flour and ras el hangout on a flat plate. Coat the chicken tenderloins in the mixture and shake off the excess.
3. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Cook the chicken for 2 - 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked and golden. Add a little more oil as needed.
4. Slice the chicken.
5. To make the yoghurt dressing, combine the ingredients in a bowl.
6. To serve, pile the couscous onto plates, top with the chicken slices and spoon over the yoghurt dressing.

3.5.3208